Online shopping has brought a wide range of societal benefits, such as wider selections, lower prices, and the comfort of shopping from home and having items delivered at the click of a mouse. As online shopping becomes more popular, these benefits accumulate, not only in terms of higher efficiency, but also in terms of improved customer experience.
Challenges remain, however, for both consumers and merchants. Online shopping differentiates itself from shopping in stores by focusing on better prices and a lower hassle shopping experience. There is a concern that customers may be confused by hard to navigate websites, and when a customer attempts to use a website and is rejected, the fear that this customer may be lost, possibly for an extended period of time, becomes especially acute.
Online shopping remains a vibrant and competitive part of the economy, in part because it is so easy for shoppers to move between competing websites. Therefore, there remains a strong need to deliver better prices and a less frustrating experience for customers.